Sexual abuse case

THE allegations of sexual harassment against Janata Dal (Secular) MP Prajwal Revanna, grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, have caused a political storm amid the General Election. The alleged sexual exploitation of many women, captured in around 3,000 video clips that are being circulated on social media, has triggered a verbal duel between the ruling Congress in Karnataka and the BJP, which is contesting the Lok Sabha polls in the state in alliance with the JD(S). The state government has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case, even as Prajwal’s father HD Revanna is under arrest on the charges of molestation and abduction. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asserted that there should be zero tolerance to people like Prajwal, but at the same time, he has accused the Congress government of allowing the MP to leave the country.

The SIT faces the challenge of conducting an independent and impartial investigation despite Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s assurance that his government will not interfere in the probe. It will not be easy to get the victims, identified from the video clips, to come forward to lodge complaints. According to reports, several women who were allegedly subjected to sexual abuse have left their homes in Hassan district — the bastion of the Deve Gowda family — over the past 10 days or so. With their identities revealed, aggrieved women are fleeing apparently due to social stigma and fear. Notably, HD Revanna is accused of abducting a woman in an alleged attempt to prevent her from approaching the SIT.

The state government needs to ensure that the victims muster the courage to give their statements and are not silenced or deterred by threats and coercion. Their protection should be prioritised in the pursuit of justice. The absconding MP, against whom a Blue Corner notice has been issued, must be made to face the law.

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